During the testing of electronic devices, heat is generated and emitted to the surrounding external environment by the electronic devices. Managing this heat is a challenging task during the testing of the electronic devices. Numerous cooling mechanisms exist to dissipate the heat and to cool the electronic devices. There is a wide cost range for these cooling mechanisms. Each cooling mechanism has its advantages and deficiencies.
Some heat is required to warm the electronic device during testing. Cooling mechanisms are used to regulate the temperature of the electronic device at a desired temperature or desired temperature range during testing.
Factors that influence the effectiveness of a cooling mechanism include cooling capacity and cooling control of the cooling mechanism. Cooling capacity generally refers to an amount of heat the cooling mechanism is able to dissipate from a volume or an area within a time interval. Cooling control generally refers to aspects of manipulating the operation of the cooling mechanism to address current environmental conditions. As the manufacturing phase of electronic devices matures to volume production, the testing phase is pressured to adapt new techniques for cooling and for cooling control that are better suited for performing volume testing of electronic devices and that conform to testing specifications of designers and manufacturers.